Tides of Change
by Kittey Rin
Summary: Stories come and go. They turn from stories into legend, legends become myth and myths fade from existance. There is one such story, and I feel that I should write it down before it becomes a faded memory. IYYYHxover IF series
1. Chapter I

A/N: Well, now isn't this fun? I've got another story that I get to mutilate and twist about evilly! Bwa ha ha!

Alright, if anyone who has read my other twisted story (The Truth of Beauty) is reading this, you are in luck. I've decided that I like twisting old tales into my own creatures, and have decided (with the help of April and Imouto) to create a little series that I am calling the Interpreted Fairytales series. IF, for short. (What's up with me and acronyms? I've got ANY, ACE, and now IF!)

So, yeah, I hope that many people who read and loved Truth come back and try out this newest addition. Of course, if it stinks really horribly and nobody likes it...well, too bad. I'm not going to stop it, it's too much fun already.

PLEASE NOTE: Like Truth, this story only begins in first person! It sets up the story, and if you don't like it, then just skip to the break and read from there. You won't miss anything really major, I promise.

Now, enjoy!

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Stories come and go. They turn from stories into legend as people begin to doubt the honesty and truth behind the tellings. Legends become myth as the legends are forgotten, swept away by the tides of change as they are told less and less to the next generation of children. And, eventually, myths fade from existance, forgotten lessons that will never be recovered._

_In one village, there is one such story, and I feel that I should write it down before it becomes a faded memory. It took me foever to find it, and I'm afraid that if I don't there will be no way for my adoring neices and nephews to know about the dangers that lurk in the unknown._

_But what do I know?I'm sure you're asking the same question I've been dying to know the answer to. I mean, what does a young woman know, when she has her elders to provide information and knowledge for her? Better yet, when she has her men folk to do the thinking and writing for her?_

_It would possibly be that way, if I had any men living around me. I've long ago scared them off with my temper, letting them know just who is boss around my home. I've only ever had one man whom I've ever loved, but he is currently out on a sailing venture in which he so lovingly prevented me from accompanying him on. He has been gone for some time, so he has no say in what I write currently. Plus, I'm bored, so it works out in the end._

_As for my elders...Well, I never really listened to them anyway. Who needs them, when they are completely biased on the workings of the world, prevent change with every ounce of their being, and say one thing but do something completely different?_

_No, I think I'll stick to my own way of doing things, thank you very much._

_But there is one thing that they are right on. The sea is one place to be wary of, and they make a point of teaching all children to respect the ocean and all of her treasures and curses hidden beneath the calm (or, if she's really angry, furious) waves that lap against the shore._

_They warn us all that if we aren't careful, that we'll be swept under, taken into the dark depths of her bosom, never surfacing again. We'll become a part of her, leaving behind everything and never returning to the lang and people we love._

_And when someone asks why the ocean does that, all they say is "The sea king demands sacrafices. If you are too mindless to respect his laws, then you deserve to serve him under the waves for all eternity."_

_But something just didn't make sense when they told me that. And so I hunted for the myth, for the legend that was once truth, through countless towns and cities until I came across a story that made sense. It was, unsurprisingly, in a small sea-side village made up of almos all sailors. No big deal, right? Well, what made it so much better was that the person who told me about it also swore on his mother's grave that it was true. He even claimed that he was the decendent of one of the people._

_So I told the man to relate the tale to me, taking down extensive notes and compiling a decent mountain of paper for me to take home. He was incredibly specific, from who wore what to what happened when. He made it incredibly easy for me to follow him, and in the end, he was very persuasive._

_Traveling back to my village, I have decided to stay and write this at my old desk until the time that my husband makes it back to me, or I finish this...whichever comes first. I just hope that someone out there takes pity on a 'brainless woman' and believes that this tale should be told to their children, their children's children, and even onto their granchildren's children, as I believe it was meant to be._

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_The sea is a glorious place to the people on land. It holds so many wonder, so many mysteries in its dark depths. No person to ever walk the land had ever seen what it held for them, and maybe that was why so many men took to the waters each year, on great ships that cut through the water, on the great being that is the ocean.

However, if they thought it was amazing above the surface, or even barely below, they should have seen it in its deepest, icy depths. There, in the darkness that would make even a grown man afraid to approach, laid a great city.

If man could lay a name to the metal that made up the palace and its surroundings, they would have called it gold. If they could have laid a name to the light that illuminated it, they would have said it was lit by millions of candles that never flickered. And if they would name the occupants that inhabited the glorious city, they would have called them merpeople.

However, man would be wrong. There was no metal to be found under the sea; it would all rust awfully, making the glimmering city into a twisting maze of death. They had no way of lighting fire underneath the water, even if they knew what the strange element was in this world of water. And the citizens of the city were not merely half-fish and half-human; there were species that were half-shark, whale, dolphin, and even a handful that were part of a creature that had no name in the human tongue.

And so they would be instead awe-struck by the wonders that were part of the everyday life of the city dwellers of Atlantis.

Kagome thought it was the most boring place she had ever been to. Granted, she had never been anywhere outside of Atlantis, but she thought that anywhere other than her birth city would be better than here. It was too dark, it was too crowded, and regardless of what her father said, it was _cold_!

Shivering under her blankets, Kagome curled up even tighter into a ball. She tucked her fin underneath her, the deep green scales shimmering softly in the coral light. Regardless of what humans thought, there were some breeds of coral that, in fact, _did _glow in the dark; the palace and houses surrounding it were proof of that.

Kagome would have loved to fall back asleep, snuggling into her sea-sponge bed and tucking her algae blanket even further under her slender body. And she would have, easily. The one good thing about living so far under the water was the fact that it was always dark, allowing people to sleep whenever they felt like it.

The only problem was, one of her elder sisters chose that moment to decide that Kagome had slept long enough. The black-haired girl in question had only a moments warning before her blanket was, quite literally, ripped to shreds.

Sitting up angrily, Kagome glared at her sister. "Kikyo! Why did you do that?" she snapped.

Kikyo was only about a season-cycle older than Kagome. The two sister's were nearly identical when it came to coloring, both with muddy eyes and dark hair. Kikyo even had a green tail, though hers was much lighter than Kagome's. However, that was where the similarities ended.

Where Kagome liked to let her hair loose and had never chosen to style it, Kikyo liked to keep hers hooked back into a wild tail that tangled itself almost instantly. She also chose to cut bangs, going straight across and some of them left longer so that they protected her delicate ears.

Kikyo smiled a little too sweetly. "Dear sister, aren't you forgetting? Father said that he wanted to see us, _all _of us, as soon as the guard switched. That was a while ago, and now we're both late. Or didn't you care?"

Kagome 'eep'-ed and dove out of her bed. "I totally forgot!" She scrambled to drag a comb through her hair, growling when snarls prevented the object from traveling smoothly.

Another perk to living under the ocean was that you never had to change. Men and women alike never had to worry about wearing anything over their chests- it just wasn't done. Besides the fact that there was no type of cloth available to the sea folk that wouldn't hinder their movement, it just wasn't comfortable to them. It was completely natural to wear nothing, and it didn't embarrass them one bit.

And so it didn't take Kagome long to finish and join her sister in the hallway, racing to meet their father and hoping that the king's infamous temper didn't effect two of his adoring daughters.

Swimming as fast as they could, it still took the two girls some time before they made it to the antechamber. What could they do? It was a very large palace, with so many halls that even a dolphin would get lost in it. One had, too, on more than one occasion.

When the two burst into the room, they were both out of breath and panting heavily. It was really easy to loose one's breath underwater- all of the pressure on top of the exhertion made it hard to breath.

There were only two other occupants in the room, Kagome and Kikyo's other sisters. Their father wasn't in sight, probably finishing up some meeting or, more likely, a meal.

It irked Kikyo, knowing that she could have had a few moments more of sleep before she had to be in front of her father. She didn't even know what he wanted, but it couldn't have been that important. After all, even though the sea king tended to have a temper, he rarely took things seriously.

"It's about time you two showed up. What took you so long?" That was Keiko, the youngest of the girls. She was a exactly one season-cycle younger than Kagome, with chesnut-colored hair and brighter eyes than her two siblings. Her tail was a light turqoise color, and she liked to keep her hair the shortest of the four sisters. She said it made her even faster in the water, and that could be proven in the fact that she always beat the four of them in races. Although, that could have also been due to the fact that she was often seen chasing after her delinquint boyfriend.

"I was hoping you were father. He's late again," said the eldest, Botan, with annoyance coating her voice. She was the most colorful of the four sisters- somehow, she had been born with blue hair. She kept it in a style similar to Kikyo's, only, like Kagome, she chose to never cut it. Her eyes were another shocker, as they were a pure enough pink to make a salmon envious. Her tail was a lavendar rainbow, no two scales exactly the same color. All in all, she was an eye-catcher.

"Tell me again," Kagome began, "just _why _is he _always_ late?" She screamed in frustration, beating her fists in the air.

Kikyo smirked and floated over to the others. "What's up, Kagome? Have you been flitting about the surface again?" She shook her head and clucked her tongue. "You know Father has forbid all sea folk from going anywhere outside the canyon. Are you _trying _to get into trouble?" Her eye held a glint that Kagome didn't like.

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms. "Are you kidding me? After that last fiasco, did you think that I would be that stupid?"

Kikyo's eyes just glittered maliciously.

The fact was, Kagome was a horrible lier. She had, in fact, been outside the canyon many times. Last night had been her latest adventure, the young woman having chosen to spend her time sleeping instead up at the surface. She couldn't help it; it was an amazing place up there.

Up there, there was light. Natural and warm, and so bright that it hurt for her to look directly at it. There were creatures that cried out with an annoying voice, swimming high overhead and gliding on the above-sea tides. There were even great big beasts made out of a strange, hard shell that glided on the barrier between sea and above-sea. Those were the most amazing of anything on the surface, and Kagome went out of her way to watch them whenever the great being passed.

Kagome just couldn't understand what was so dangerous up there to make it forbidden to leave Atlantis.

However, Kagome wasn't able to dwell on her thoughts any longer, for a large racket at the entrance announced the entry of a very important person. A great knot of folk, from dolphin-tailed merchants to shark-bodied guards, proceeded a single seahorse. The tiny creature cleared its throat with a self-important air, and made a loud announcement in a squeaking voice.

"I present his royal Majesty, the sea king!"

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End Chapter

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Dedicated to Imouto, for getting me through Truth, the titles for both of my IF series stories, and for making me laugh at myself while I try and come up with ideas.

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review. 


	2. Chapter II

A/N: Hey people! Listen, once again, I'm writing this in class. Not much time to tell you things, so...

I was GOING to update this weekend, but fanfiction wouldn't let me log in. So, that's that.

Really rushing here, so I'll just shut up and post this.

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The palace by the sea was said to be one of the most beautiful places known to man. Made entirely out of pearly white marble, it shone like a star when the sunlight reflected on it. All of the seven hundred and eighty six rooms were made out of the same material from ceiling to floor. Each room had its own purpose: ten ballrooms, fifteen dining rooms, eleven rooms for sitting, rooms for guests and rooms for servents. There was even a room that was used when a person was waiting to see the king.

Youko thought it was too big. He knew that, as the crowned prince, he would someday own the massive beast for his own. That didn't mean he had to like it, of course.

There were so many rooms, and everything was so utterly confusing, that even after living there nearly twenty years Youko _still_ became turned around. He couldn't figure out how the servants were able to navigate inside it. It was a miracle none of them had gotten lost in some secluded room that was cleaned once every decade; he didn't think anyone would have found them.

His intimidating home was the sole reason the silver-haired youth was currently sitting out on the beach. He was perched just beyond the surf so that he wouldn't get wet -Shizuru'd kill him if he messed up his clothing she had worked so hard to get clean-, and he had one knee drawn up to his chest where he rested an arm. The other was placed behind him, holding him up as he leaned back.

He let his mind drift over the different things he had been presented with, his molten gold eyes scanning the horizon. The sea calmed him, with it's soothing sounds and the cool breezes blowing in from the open water, carrying with them relief from the over-bearingly hot summer sun.

He had always adored the ocean. Whenever a sailor or a ship sailed off the harbor, he made sure to be there. It gave him an excuse to be near the water, with all of its wonders hidden beneath the crashing waves. He had even talked his father into letting him go on a couple excursions himself; they didn't last long, though, only going down the coast a bit to pick up some supplies from a neighboring country. But it was still a ship, and he was still on the water.

Nobody could understand his fascination with the water. For the country folk, they saw it every day. They used it for food, the children played in the tidepools, and they had to deal with high-tide every season. To them, the ocean was just there. It was a part of life, and they used all of its gifts.

The nobles, with their too-expensive clothing and foul smelling purfumes, thought that the ocean was a nuisance. If they had their way, there would be no sea and water would only be for the lowest of the low classes to deal with. They didn't seem to understand the quiet majesty that made up the blue giant. They didn't get the fact that their country's main source of trade.

Sighing, Youko shifted a bit. A thick, silvery strand of hair fell into his face. Angrily, Youko swiped it away.

He really hated his hair. One of the royal family traditions was the fact that both men and women never cut their hair. Therefore, his soft locks fell to the middle of his back. Another fact of life was that Youko had inherited from his father's side more than his mother's. Both he and his father had pure white hair by the time they turned eighteen. It was incredibly annoying.

It didn't help that a lot of people said that Youko was a lot like his father. Unfortunately for him, the silver haired youth couldn't stand his overbearing parent. His dad had a temper, was cold and callous, took everything entirely too seriously, and wouldn't admit it when he was wrong. To think that Youko was even considered to be compared to the man made the youth grind his teeth with annoyance.

Granted, both his silver hair and golden-brown eyes were paternal, as was his incredible height of just over six feet. About the only physical aspect that Youko had from his maternal genes was the feminine edge on all of his features. His eyelashes were a bit longer, his face was a bit thinner, his body structure was a bit more delicate...

On the other hand, his personality was almost completely like his mother's. He was said to be kind, generous, and fun loving (as his little sister adored pointing out). Of course, he also had a temper, which he blamed entirely on his father.

Youko sat forward and punched the sand. "The least he could have done when they had me was give me some control over it!" he shouted at the ocean.

A single gull called back to him, the sound echoing over the calm landscape.

Youko crossed his legs, his supposedly mid-calf breeches pulling to his knees. His mind drifted again, staying on no particular thought. He must have stayed there for a long while, for the next thing he knew, he was being tackled from behind by a dark-haired midget.

Falling forward from the momentum, he hit the sand face-first. Giggling sounded over him as the midget pulled back and stood in front of him with a purpose.

Looking up, Youko took in the sight of his younger sister. Her mid-back length hair was as dark as Youko's used to be. Today, the young seven-year-old chose to wear the entire top layer pulled into a side ponytail. Her eyes were from their mother, deep and very definately brown. The servants of the palace had decided to dress her in something she could run around in, a short dress with full sleeves in an orange and white checked dress. Even as he took all this in, he scowled.

"Rin, what gives you the right to pounce on me?" he barked. "You know I hate it when you do that."

Rin stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "But brother," she whined, "I couldn't help it! I called to you, but you weren't answering." She hung her head slightly and grasped her hands behind her back. "I'm sorry."

Youko sighed. He sat on his knees and shook his sand-filled hair. "Just don't do it again, alright?" he told her.

Rin giggled and nodded emphatically. "I won't, I promise!" As soon as she said that, her mood shifted incredibly. Nearly bouncing with energy, she said, "Hey, hey, guess what? There's a pretty lady staying at the palace! Daddy said that she was going to be staying for a while, and she's really really really pretty! Yup, and mommy says that there's going to be a big ball, and daddy said that he was going to present her, and make a _big _announcement!" Giggling again, she continued to rattle on about what their parents had said.

Youko wasn't paying attention to any of it. A lady meant that it was a princess, most likely. That made Youko groan inwardly. His father had been adament on Youko marrying soon, and had been hunting down the perfect princess in the meantime. Youko couldn't stand it, and he just wanted to scream. If his father had already found someone, it wouldn't be too long until that someone became ruler of the worlds largest kingdom with an oceanside view.

Rin paused in her chattering and blinked. "Brother, are you alright? You've gone all wierd again. What are you thinking?"

Youko shook his head and stood. "I'm just thinking that my life is about to get a lot more complicated." He looked down at his kid sister. "I'm guessing that they want to see me?" he asked her.

Rin put her hands on her hips, her face taking on a mock-seriousness to it. "What, you think I would have come get you otherwise?" she asked.

With a shudder, Youko realised that she was going to become a miniature version of his mother soon. However, she couldn't keep a straight face, and was soon all giggles again. "Silly, of course they want to see you! You've been out all day!"

With a start, Youko saw that the sun was already touching the horizon. With a sigh, shaking his head, he turned back to the bouncing brunette. "Well, then, shall I escort you back?" he asked. Smiling, he offered her his arm. "Might the lady take mine arm?"

Rin laughed happily and looped her arm through her elder brother's (as much as she possibly could) as the two siblings made their way back to the palace.

It didn't take long for them to get inside, as the small strip of beach they had on their property was incredibly close to the ocean; one of the only good things about living in the palace. It didn't take much to sneak out to see the water that way. He could just sneak out and not have to worry about running into palace staff or the like- his room was on the sea-side of the castle, and he had long ago trained himself to be able to get from his fourth floor balcony to the roof of the third floor building, and then the jumping down the last twenty or so feet to the ground. It was getting back up that was the hard part.

Now, walking through the cool marble hallways, with his adorable little sister at his side, Youko pursed his lips. He really wasn't looking forward to meeting whatever woman Youko's father had lassoed into meeting him. He didn't want to marry _quite_ yet, and when he did, he wanted to marry the person _he_ chose. His father just didn't seem to get that part.

Besides, the last few times Youko had met a princess that could have ended up as his wife, they were all disasters.

One of them had taken one look at him and decided that she would do anything to get him. She went as far as to beging sneaking into his room at night. He had had to set guards outside his room so that he could sleep without the woman trying to molest him! That didn't last long, as she was already betrothed and hadn't bothered to tell anyone.

Another had been incredibly shy. Youko would have considered marrying her...if she had been a bit older. She was nearly half his age, and her father wanted them to marry as soon as they could rope an official into marrying them off. The girl had nearly fainted from that.

One of the most recent had been horrible for the entire family. She was completely obnoxious, running around and screaming at the servants at the top of her lungs. She hadn't even bothered to stop and think that she wasn't the ruler of the palace. In fact, she was so annoying, that he didn't even have to do anything to get rid of her. His father saw to that.

So, in accordance to his history with princesses, Youko really wasn't looking forward to meeting this new woman. If his luck had anything to say about it, the entire fiasco would no doubt end up going horribly awry in a matter of moments.

Rin pulled Youko reluctantly the last few steps into the antechamber. A great room that served no purpose but to impose any visiting nobles, it had great curtains of fabric and large, ornate tapestries covering every inch of the wall. A red velvet carpet led from the large oak doors to the dias, where the throne sat. The high ceiling disappeared in a darkened room, but even in the light, it was hard to pick out. It was the biggest room in the entire palace.

Youko's father had yet to enter, since the throne sat alone raised above the floor. Three steps to the gilded chair, it was a golden masterpiece. The chair itself, like the tapestries, depicted the past achievements of the old kings of the past. Each generation had its mark on the throne. The eldest carving, Youko's incredibly-distant great-grandfather, was a school of fish that was being scattered by a harpoon showing their choice in trading from the sea; the newest, his father's, a net covering the countryside to symbolise the great king bringing the entire country under one, steadfast rule. Eventually, Youko supposed that his own mark would be carved into that great seat.

Rin let go of his hand and dashed ahead, her laughter echoing in the empty chamber. She scrambled up to the chair and sat herself in it, giggling pleaseantly as she swung her legs back and forth.

Youko walked up and stood next to her, looking down at the young girl. "Rin, you know you aren't supposed to be playing on father's chair," he told her in a warning tone.

Rin laughed and nodded energetically. "I know, but father isn't here and I haven't done it for a long time. It's a cool chair, and it's a lot of fun to look at and sit in." She spoke with the air of someone whose reasoning was sound and wasn't worried about the consequences of her actions.

As a matter of fact, neither was Youko. Rin was the baby of the family, always getting away with things because she was daddy's little girl and not old enough to know any better. She would always be able to bask in the fact that her father and brother would do anything to protect her, and her mother had a soft spot for anything Rin did to get into trouble. Even the servants liked to fawn on the young girl.

Youko, on the other hand, was the eldest by a great deal and therefore would automatically know what was right and what was wrong. If he got caught doing something he shouldn't, he had to be smart enough to get out of it. If he wanted something, he had to earn it. A king was the type of person who knew what to do and when to do it, always getting what he wanted in the end. And that was one lesson he had spent his entire life learning, from the moment he was old enough to know answer the question "You haven't earned it yet, have you?" correctly. It was one thing that his father kept saying, like he was stuck on repeat or something along that line.

Crossing his arms, Youko sighed again. If his father didn't get there soon, he would just go back to the beach. He didn't have anything else to do besides this, so it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, it wasn't like he hadn't _tried_ to accept his fate like a docile little lamb; even if he didn't like it, he would do it because it was his duty.

He didn't wait long. It was only a few moments after thinking that when the oak doors creaked open once again, and Youko's father made his way regally into the room.

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End Chapter

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review! 


	3. Chapter III

A/N: Yeah...I had a little bout of writer's block on this chapter (okay, so it took a week to get rid of and was probably more than a bit), but I made it a little longer for you as an apology. I couldn't make it too long, though, seeing as I think I know what my next chapter will be. But since I'm going in a much different direction than I first anticipated, I don't know how long until I get stuck again.

So...**A couple questions I would love to know answers to!**

Yes, well, I hope that got your attention, because I'm serious about this. First, I would like to know if any of you would like to see someone portrayed in this story specifically, like someone playing as Sebastion or something. I have an idea, but I love opinions. They give much needed inspiration.

Second, I would like to know if it would be helpful if I put in a list during my author's notes telling which character is representing one of the Disney people in a little section. Like saying who's supposed to be Ariel (duh...), who is Grimsly (any suggestions), etc. Also, if you've read Truth, should I go back and do that with that story as well?

Third, I would like to know if I'm getting people pretty in character. Sesshoumaru doesn't count, though...we all know he would never say as many things as I have him saying, but I need it as a plot device. We have to get this adventure starting somehow!

Finally, any comments on how it's going? Too fast, too slow, too informational, not enough information...that kind of thing. I love everyone's opinion. They help out a lot when I'm writing.

Oh, wait, I lied. There is ONE other thing...I've been wondering this for a long time. It's really random, but...are any people reading this story guys? Just curious...X3

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The sea king was a formiddable person, but you wouldn't know that from looking at him. With brown hair that was never taken care of, always getting in his face and covering his eyes, and matching brown eyes that he had passed down to all daughters but one, the sea king Koenma looked more ready to laugh than put his metephorical foot down 

Even his royal blue tail, which none of his four daughters had inherited (much to his disappointment), he swam forward towards the throne. A small entourage of beings followed him; the shark-like guards, the dolphin tailed scribes and philosophers, and even a rare manta ray mercenary completed the crowd.

Kagome knew almost every face among them. The only new faces, and she thought they were the reason that their father had called them all to the room, were a handful of what looked to be delegates from another sea. The new people were looking around the hall, unimpressed with what they were seeing. They carried an air of superiority that grated on Kagome's nerves.

However, manners dictated that they hadn't been rude or cruel as of yet. Kagome just had a feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong very soon, but that wasn't proof enough to get away with being rude herself. So she grit her teeth and bowed with her sister's, using the proper forms to the exact degree and not a bit more.

Koenma moved up to his daughters, pulling them into hugs one after another. "My girls, how are you doing? Well, I assume, otherwise you wouldn't be here." Koenma paused after hugging Kagome before moving to Keiko, and Kagome wondered why that was. "I'm glad you're all here, it will make this go a lot smoother."

With minimal fuss, soon everyone was in their proper place: the king in his throne, his daughters to either side, the scribes one step below, the guards one step below them, and all of the other courtiers fanned out from there. Clearing his throat for attention, the king waited for the murmurs and shifting to cease.

Spreading his hands wide, Koenma smiled. "Before I get down to business, I would first like to thank the ambassadors from Pacifica, Baltic and Mediterrania." He nodded to the three regal-looking people.

Much fuss and formality went into getting the greetings over. Kagome had never liked them, so she just hid a yawn behind her hand and played her part. Her sisters were much more enthusiasti- excepting, possibly, Keiko. Then again, Keiko had never really enjoyed any of the formalities observed by the Atlantis Royal Court.

When manners dictated that they could begin with business, most of the courtiers left, excluding the parties involved in whatever it was that brought them into the throne room. That left the royal family of Atlantis and the delegates, making the once crowded room seem vast and intimidating.

Koenma took his chair, a masterpiece made out of peices of reef from the warm oceanic water of the equater, and shells bred and mined by the oddly colored folk of the Eastern Indies. Settling in, Kagome swam to her place behind her father- just behind his left shoulder.

Each girl had her own spot where they would appear to "support" their father. It gave a largely illusionary appearance of the kingdom being whole, united and strong against the other seas. Botan, as the eldest, had the honorary right-hand side of the sea king. Kikyo was next to the cotton-candy girl, standing just behind the king's right shoulder. Then it was Kagome, followed by Keiko on the left hand side.

The delegates spread themselves out into a semi-circle, each an equal distance from the other. The brightly colored Mediterrania ambassadors were standing farthest to the right, and the burly Baltic representatives were farthest left. Pacifica's people were directly in the center.

One of the Pacifican travelers was a handsome fellow, with delicate features and an imperial, 'better-than-thou' attitude. His deep mahogany dolphin tail kept twitching as if it was constantly itching but nothing could be done about it. His features were like those found on a sandollar- delicate and easily broken. His eyes nearly matched perfectly with his tail, and the creepiest thing was that he kept stealing glances at Kagome when he thought she wasn't looking.

What, did she have something on her face? Kagome crossed her arms, sending him a glare when he looked at her again. He responded with a sickeningly sweet smile, and Kagome swore that he would blow her a kiss before he turned away. Thankfully, he didn't.

"Now," Koenma started, "we can start. After much debate over your offers," he addressed the visitors, "I have decided who shall be sent where."

Kagome was confused. People were going somewhere? Who? And for what reason? She hadn't heard of any planned trips, and nobody had told her. She would have heard anyways; she had connections to counselors of her father, and she was positive they would have said something to her. After all, what were friends for?

The delegates all bowed, and Koenma turned around halfway. "Girls," he said, "in order to keep alliances strong and make sure we don't repeat the War at Burmuda- we all know we can't afford to have another enchanted graveyard like that- we are going to have to make sacrafices and do what we may not like for the greater good of all."

Kagome didn't like what she was hearing. In every tale told by her old nursemaid, "for the greater good" were words that told you you should run in the other direction, screaming your head off that you would have no part of whatever it was they wanted from you. But even with the warning bells going off in her head, Kagome didn't move.

He turned forward. "That is why three of you will be married and on your way to your new kingdom within the season," he said bluntly.

The girl's reactions were spread over the spectrum. Botan, always a romantic at heart, nearly squealed and clasped her hands together. "This sounds just like a story book," she was saying to nobody in particular. Her tail was moving back and forth, a sure sign that she was as excited as she looked.

Kikyo frowned, looking over the people, knowing that she might be married off to one of them in the near future; after all, you didn't send ambassadors to a kingdom to make a marriage alliance without sending the prince's to be married off.

Beside the prince from Pacifica, the other two paled in comparison. The one from Baltic was a lot more buff and had wild facial hair, his tail that of a large, grey shark's. The other, from Mediterrania, had an exotic but sharp look about him; his features were angular and his skin dark, with almond eyes and a tail that appeared to be ray, dolphin and sea horse meshed together. Anyone looking at the second eldest sister would know she was eyeing the Pacific prince with appreciation.

Keiko was in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly in surprise. Anyone who knew a tenth of what went on in the palace knew that Keiko had the world's largest crush on one of the castle occupants. She had been stuck in love with him for well over half her life, yet refused to admit it to her crush when the guy was too thick to see her infatuation with him.

Kagome just squeaked. Swimming quickly in front of her father, she began to, if not shout at him, speak incredibly loudly. "What do you mean, we're to be married off? Don't we get a say in anything? Isn't this our lives you're meddling in? This has got to be some joke!" She threw her arms in the air, turned a pleading look to the ceiling. "Please, tell me you're kidding!"

Koenma fixed Kagome with a stern stare. "Kagome, this is uncalled for." Kagome looked at her esteemed father. "Go back to your place and keep quiet until we can talk privately. All of you!" he barked.

His daughters, ever obedient (for the most part), did as they were told. Kagome sulked as she floated over to where she was before, grumbling under her breath about the unfairness of it all.

Koenma turned his attention to his guests, his children out of his mind for the moment. "Now, like I was saying, I have chosen which daughter will go with whom. For you, Jinenji, I am sending me eldest, Botan." Jinenji was apparently the prince of Baltic, since he flushed and looked away.

Kagome couldn't help but think that, for someone who looked incredibly tough and bully-like, he seemed pretty sweet and innocent just from that small bit of red on his face. She couldn't help but wonder if the burly chap wasn't just a big softy inside.

The next person to be adressed was the royal from Mediterrania. "For you, Hiten, I give my second eldest, Kikyo." Their reactions were somewhat the same. Kikyo was nonchalant, not sad that she didn't get the best looking of them all, nor happy that she got a better looking prince than Jinenji. Hiten just stared her down, a small battle of wills to test Kikyo's strength. It didn't work- Kikyo noticed his stare and met his eyes, and Hiten was the first to look away.

Having been on the recieving end of Kikyo's malicious glare, she could sympathize with him. And she would have, if she didn't have that ominous feeling telling her that the final prince, who had taken to looking at her like she was some peice of meat, was going to be announced as her future husband.

Sure enough, she wasn't disappointed. "And Suzaku, I give you the elder of my two youngest, Kagome." Nodding with finality, Suzaku's stare took on a more predatorial look. Kagome would have collapsed to the floor had she had two legs, yet the water kept her up even though she didn't move her fin any.

The delegates bowed themselves out, turning to talk with and congradulate each other on their catches. Botan and Keiko followed soon after, the elder talking about all of the stuff she would find out about her new finacee and the younger breathing a sigh of relief at escaping the snare that had snapped around the eldre three. Kikyo followed after a smirk at Kagome, knowing the young brunette didn't want choices made for her, before following the others.

Within moments, Kagome was left alone with her father. Swimming back in front of him, Kagome let off a tidal wave of emotion she had been carefully holding back. "What was that all about? What are you getting at, shipping me off to some lecherous, arrogant, idiotic blonde with a bad hair day?" she screamed. Her temper was flared, knowing that her own choices were being pulled from her grasp.

Her tirade continued, and she didn't see her father's face slowly darken. "I don't get it. You didn't even talk to us! Don't we get a say in our future? Isn't it our lives? You always do this, always, and in the end it's us who end up getting the sour end of the deal. That isn't fair at all, and--"

Koenma cut her off. "Kagome, that is enough," he bellowed. "You don't stop to think for yourself, do you? That maybe we _need_ this alliance to prevent our kingdom from being torn into peices." His face took on a disapproving stare. "I never though that I would raise such a selfish daughter."

Kagome's face burned. Whether from anger or embarrassment, she couldn't tell. "What do you mean, selfish? If you would have talked to me about it, I probably would have agreed!"

Koenma shook his head. "We both know you are too hot-headed and stubborn to agree with anything I present you with. You would have tossed my request aside, and would have still ended up in the position you are now."

Kagome fisted her hands at her side. "You don't know that. You haven't had any time for me for a long time, let alone any time to find out who I've become. I'm not a child anymore, and you know it!"

Koenma fixed her with one of his stares, the one that said she didn't know what she was talking about. "I only treat you how you should be treated. If you act like a child, then a child you will be!" He took a breath, wanting to not lose his temper. "You and I both know you have a good head on your shoulders, even if you don't necessarily use it much." He held up a hand to forestall what Kagome was about to say. "However, I will explain this. You, out of all of my children, are the most adept at dealing with matters of state.

"As one of the largest kingdoms in the seven seas, that is required of someone with your status. The prince from Pacifica is the heir to the largest kingdom of all- I need to send someone who will know what to do and say with a certain detatchement from her emotions. Botan gets too caught up in her feelings, Kikyo could care less, and Keiko is too young to be married off at such an age. That leaves you, and if you don't like it, that's too bad."

Kagome's hands were shaking with anger at this point. "So what, I'm just a bartering chip? You couldn't have figured out a different way to make this alliance? Is that all I'm good for?" she shouted.

Koenma's stare hardened. "Suzaku wouldn't accept this alliance without one of my daughter's hands in marriage, and he specifically asked for you. I will not jeapordize this kingdom for a spoiled, selfish brat!" Koenma pointed to Kagome, who was staring at her father with fury. "You will do as your told, and be grateful that I won't be leaving you to fend for yourself!"

Kagome didn't bother responding. She spun around, swimming as fast as she could to the door without looking back. She nearly unhinged the large obstacle as she fled over the threshold, slamming the large slab behind her.

* * *

On land, in the large anteroom that made up the seaside king's throne room, Youko was having a similar problem with his own father. Lord Sesshoumaru, a ruler that used an iron hand gloved in velvet over his citizened, had presented the most recent bridal choice to his heir. 

The girl herself wasn't too bad looking; she had dark black hair and eyes so dark, he couldn't tell what color they were. She was fully figured, to be sure, and had been wearing a very flattering navy-colored, silk dress. However, she also gave off an incredibly dark aura for someone so sheltered looking.

Shortly after meeting her, the girl- called Tsubaki- was sent away to sit and talk with Youko's mother and Rin. The last look she had sent him was one of possession, and Youko shuddered to remember how much like some carnivor she looked like, one eyeing a particularily juicy peice of a choice cut.

And he no doubt would have shuddered, had he not been so angry at his father. They had been arguing for the last candlemark or so, back and forth between duty, freedom and responsibility. Currently, Sesshoumaru was giving his son 'the lecture'.

"You are old enough now to take a hold of the throne. I'm not a young man anymore- I will die soon, and I want to be secure in the knowledge that my kingdom will be secure as well. It is your responsibility, as crowned prince, to marry and make an alliance with a kingdom that will help support my people- soon to be _your _people."

Youko's father, a tall man with white hair and golden eyes, shifted in his throne. He wore no crown unless it was required of him; he didn't need one to project the aura of commanding that always surrounded him. Picking up where he left off, he continued to lecture at his son.

"Without a wife to help take care of the household, you will not be able to concentrate on the more important things- your people, and your kingdom. If you spend too much time worrying about matters in the home, your enemies will persieve it as a weak point and attack you while you are vulnerable. The world is cruel, and it is no place to lose your attentiveness..." The king continued to talk, but Youko let his mind wander.

He had heard it all before. Do your duty, marry a nice woman, have a horde of children...it was all the same. Nothing had changed in 'the lecture' since it had first been told. Youko could have recited it, word for word, using the exact same tones his father used if he had wanted to. The young prince found it incredibly amusing to imagine his cold-seeming and distant father to be pacing about his study, a sheaf of papers in his hand, memorising the very things that were coming from his mouth at that very moment. It was so unlike his father, the picture nearly brought a smile to Youko's face; only years of practicing to keep his features blank had prevented the grin.

Abruptly, Youko realised that his father had stopped talking. He looked up with apprehension, only to see that his father was standing not two feet in front of him, looming over the young man. A disapproving look was masked on the king's face, one of the few emotions he openly displayed.

"What were you doing, daydreaming like that?" Sesshoumaru asked in a cold voice. "I thought I had taught you better. If I were an assassin, you would be dead by now."

Youko looked up, trying to keep annoyance from his face. If his father had been an assassin, the killer wouldn't have gotten into the room- his father's paranoia (not that the king would ever admit it, of course, but that was what it was) saw to that fact. "I wasn't daydreaming," he stated.

Sesshoumaru raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Oh? You were, prehaps, thinking about your future wife?"

Youko crossed his arms. "I wouldn't waste even a single bit of my energy thinking about her, since I'm not going to marry her. I don't care what you say, but she can just go back to her kingdom in the morning for all I care."

"You will marry her. It is your responsibility, as crown prince, to--" Youko cut off his father, getting tired of the same old speech.

"To hell with being prince, then! Go form Rin into your own little miniature, I'm not going to marry her!" Youko stared defiantly up at the elder ruler.

"Rin is in no position to be groomed for a throne, not in the amount of time it would take. You were raised from birth for this position, and you will take it up as is your birthright. Rin has other duties, creating another alliance in the future- one which you will pick out for her. You will not push your problems off onto her young shoulders."

Youko scoffed. "You spoil her, no matter what you say. You always put the pressure on me to be perfect, to memorize everything, yet did it ever occur to you that I might want my own life? That maybe I had other ideas on what to do with _my _future?"

"And what would you do? Demote yourself to a common sailor? There is no chance that you will be killed or die before your time comes to take up the throne and rule over the kingdom. You and I both know that, as we both know that you are running out of options quickly. If you don't want to marry Tsubaki, you should have considered the repricussions of your actions before you chose to dismiss every other girl that has come along before her. Tsubaki is the last person who is willingly to marry into our family; you should be grateful we have even her. You have offended nearly every other princess to come through our doors."

"Oh, so it's all my fault now, isn't it? It's always me!" Youko didn't bother hiding his anger, his arms getting thrown up into the air. "So why don't we blame all of the sea storms on me as well. After all, I'm such a horrible person, I _must _have created them!" His eyes were blazing. "What else can you possibly blame on me?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes were in a cold fury. "You don't seem to understand that you don't have a choice in this matter. This is one marriage you will not get out of, no matter how smooth your words are. You will marry Tsubaki, and that is final." His voice had dropped dangerously low, sounding in a feral snarl. "Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

Youko smoothed out his face, knowing that anger would just bring unwanted trouble onto his shoulders. "Perfectly," he said with a flat voice.

Sesshoumaru didn't stop him as Youko turned around and stormed out of the room.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review. 


	4. Chapter IV

A/N: I'm so incredibly sorry for taking so long! I hope many of you read my note from Kagome...It was all I could do before I left. Again, I apologize. This had been driving me nuts the entire time!

Also, it didn't help that I actually had some of this written...and then found out that I had accidently erased it! So I had to retype _everything_. I guess it turned out a little better, though. My sister certainly thought that I did a good job on the transformation.

Which reminds me. I was going to say this before, but...it's so HARD to write without using time in Atlantis! I keep wanting to use minute, second, etc., but I can't because they don't have a time system listed. Oh well, I'm plowing through it.

Anyways, I got surprisingly many people requesting that Shippo be Flounder. Let me just say this to those people: I have a different place for him, but I hope you find it amusing for who I did choose. I actually had my flounder character chosen before any of this was written...

What else, eh? Thank you for being patient, and I will graciously accept flames for taking nearly three weeks.

_**Everyone!**_ I need an Ursula character, so I'm going to be taking a poll. I have a couple choices, so vote for your favorite (or who would work best) and I'll go for it. The choice are: Karasu (Dark Tournament, because of Youko), Naraku (Main villain in IY, because of Kagome), Rando (Genkai's tournament, because of my sister), or another person who isn't listed (either show, please tell me in a review!)

I think that's it. Please vote, and please enjoy this new chapter that is finally out!

* * *

Youko shuffled down a sparkeling, white marble hallway. At least, he would have shuffled, had that been an appropriate action for a prince. Instead, it was more of a dragged walk, wherein his feet didn't always pick themselves up off the ground, consequently causing a scraping noise to occur. 

His arms were crossed, and he had a scowl etched onto his face. It was one of those looks where, had anyone been in the immediate vacinity, they would have quickly made themselves scarce in order to avoid the inevitable explosion that would result from the prince's infamous temper. Fortunately, or unfortunately, nobody but the lone youth walked in that particular section of the seaside palace.

Youko sneered at one of the statues on his left. It was supposed to resemble his however-great ancestor. The man was supposed to have been a sight to see, collecting maidenly fans from lands far and wide. Youko thought the statue looked like a bloated catfish. Just what had his ancestor ben thinking, cultivating a mustache that drooped into sharp points like that?

Turning his glare elsewhere, Youko kicked after an imagionary stone. Of course, there would be no loose pebbles about the magnificant floor of the castle. No, the floor was complete sealed marble that matched not only the vast walls, but also the vaulted ceiling in brightness. When the sun, or any bright source of light, found it's way into the palace, most people were blinded from the reflecting aura. It made it incredibly hard to view the majesty of the palace, in Youko's professional opinion.

The young prince turned a corner and the light dimmed considerably. Youko didn't notice, too busy cursing his father. What was the man thinking, trying to force Youko into a marriage that he didn't want? He knew full well he needed to marry; after all, he was the next in line for the throne, loathe as he was to admit it. He just wanted to live a little before he was tied down to a single place, to one person, one country that demanded his full attention. Was that too much to ask for?

"Nothing should be too much for a prince like you to ask for," a voice said suddenly from behind Youko's right shoulder. "You _are_ the prince, after all."

Youko jumped and spun. "Who the hell are you, sneaking up like that?" he shouted.

The figure laughed. Covered in a brown cloak from head to toe, the hood pulled up to cover his face (Youko assumed he was male, since his voice was too deep for a female), the stranger held out his hands to either side. "My prince, I am merely a dabbler in the arts, looking to help people. Is that too much to ask?"

Youko didn't relax, but he half-turned. "Then you should leave me alone. I'm in no mood to entertain common folk right now," he bit out nastily. Normally he had nothing against his people, but his temper was getting the better of him and he could have cared less at that moment.

He completed his turn and started to walk again, but was stopped moments later by the stranger's next statement.

"And if that commoner could make your deepest wish reality? What then?"

Youko glanced back slightly. "What are you saying? That you know what I want and can make it happen somehow?" Youko heard a few steps being taken and assumed the figure was walking towards him. He tensed.

"I know everyone's desire, my prince. I only wish to make them come true." The footsteps ceased. "Would you like me to prove it?"

Youko turned fully and looked around for the cloaked man. The stranger was standing next to a place where one of the statues was conspicuously absent. Instead, a dark tunnel was formed, and the man gestured down it with a hidden hand. "If you would care to follow me, I can provide a way for you to have your wish granted." The figure turned and proceeded through the opening.

Youko hesitated momentarily. Was it worth it, following someone who looked entirely too creepy to be anyone normal, opened up secret passages in dank, unused hallways, and assumed that he knew Youko's secret wish?

It took only moments for Youko to wiegh all of the consequences before he chose to follow. It was, apparently, just in time, for the statue swung back into place just as Youko cleared the threshold.

The travel down the tunnel was a lot shorter than Youko had anticipated. It seemed like they had been walking only moments before the descent was complete and the two people entered a large cavern. Youko took a good look around himself, stepped to the side of the cave's entrance and putting a wall to his back; he felt more comfortable knowing that someone couldn't sneak up behind him that way.

Shelves lined the vast underground room, dug out directly from the solid walls. Books were strewn happlessly in them, along with baubels that held random creatures in them and bubbeling concotions in corked tubes. There were a handful of jars, hidden in the shadows, that looked as if they had body parts floating in them. Paling slightly, Youko decided to keep his eyes fixed to either the floor, or where the mysterious figure was hovering over a bubbling cauldren.

He was adding in a couple different things, using the poor torch lighting to examine his ingredients before tossing them into the frothing pot. Youko wondered if he knew it was beginning to boil over, the crimson-streaked lavendar liquid splashing little droplets about the floor.

A sizzling noise brought Youko's attention to the floor. He watched, wide-eyed, as wherever the liquid landed the stone was being eaten away. It acted like an acid, only more potent. Youko could see the ocean water, which he knew lay a good mile or so under the palace, rise up from the holes.

"What is that stuff?" he demanded. "And how far down are we?"

The figure finished his activities and the cowl shifted, giving the distinct impression that the person had just looked up. "My prince, it is merely a tool that will help you with your wish." He left the other question unanswered as he began to chant in a harsh, gutteral language.

Youko glared and opened his mouth to say something. Only, he never got a chance to say what he intended to. Just as he was about to form the words, a sharp pain shot through Youko's spine.

It was strong enough to send the young, silver-haired prince to his knees. With eyes the size of saucers, Youko felt the pain pass momentarily. He was about to stand, thinking that it was a fluke in his nerves or something, when an even larger shock ran through his legs.

They completely collapsed, dropping Youko from his kneeling position to the cold, hard stone. Youko screamed as the most horribly painful experience in his entire life began to commence.

On the one hand, there was his legs. He barely registered anything beyond the sheer magnitude of pain he was going through, but somewhere in the back of his mind he felt his legs melt. That was the only way he could describe them, as if the very acid he saw being brewed had somehow replaced itself with the marrow that filled his bones.

Legs were never meant to be connected in a human. That was the thought that flittered across Youko's agonized mind, as he felt his legs begin to fuse together. He could hear a distant grinding sound as his feet shifted to accomidate whatever changes were being wrought in him.

On the other hand, there was his eyes. He couldn't see anything through the burning. He swore that someone had taken a red-hot brand and shoved them into his eyes, the illusion made even more believable from the fact that he had tears pouring from his eyes in an attempt to ease the flames that was consuming his sight.

He also felt like someone had taken a particularily unforgiving comb to his hair and tried to wrench out every single snarl that he had ever had from the time he was born. His scalp kept twisting in every direction, eventually getting to the point where Youko began to wonder, in the only corner of his mind that wasn't pain-fogged, when his scalp would become too strained and just peel itself from his skull.

He couldn't handle what was happening to his body. His arms couldn't hold himself up, and his nerves began to send mixed signals to his brain. His body had begun to violently convulse. He began to bleed from his neck, where little slits were beginning to form. A thousand needles were being stuck into his muscles, ripping them forcefully while an outside force caused them to regrow, only to be ripped to shreds once more.

His mind began to overload from everything that was happening. Just before shutting itself down, Youko heard one last thing from the cloaked traitor.

Then oblivion consumed him.

* * *

Kagome could see the light in the ocean above. She sped up her swimming, flipping her tail as fast as she possibly could. She had only a few hundred feet before she would break the barrier between worlds, and find a small sanctuary from her father. For a while, she could forget that she had ever been forced into an engagement she didn't want. 

"Wait up, you bitch!"

The same voice had been shouting at her for some time, but Kagome had, like now, chosen to ignore it. It was one of her friends, yes, but she didn't feel like dealing with his brash temper and foul mouth at the moment.

"If you don't stop," her friend threatened, "I'm going straight to your father and telling him that you're swimming to the surface again."

Kagome stopped. Had she been driving a cart on land, or had even known about carts _or _land, she would have compared it to a screeching halt. Instead, it never crossed her mind as she turned to face her friends, hands on her hips.

The person coming closer to her, in front of her other friend, was the object of her sister, Keiko's, crush. Yuusuke was a strong, long-haired brunette that harbored a brash sense of humor and had a fairly sarcastic personality. He possessed one of the more unusual tails in Atlantis, where it was completely black except for his red fin. It made it incredibly easy for him to be spotted, and consequently, he was one of the more recognizable people of the sea. He was the one who had shouted at her.

Her other friend followed slightly behind. Miroku had hair as black as Yuusuke's fin, held back into a small dragon's tail at the base of his neck. He believed himself to be more mature and responsible than Yuusuke, and for the most part, he was. However, Miroku had a small problem in the fact that he loved to flirt.

It was, perhaps, a good thing that most women found that he had a charming personality. It helped them overlook his tail, which was an eye-shocking combination of blue, horizontal stripes over a yellow base. Despite this odd tail and odder obsession, however, Miroku was a fair person whom people loved to say good things about.

They both slowed to a halt in front of the impatient girl and caught their breaths. Kagome took the oppurtunity to speak while they were otherwise occupied. "So, what is so important that I can't spend a moment by myself?" she asked.

Miroku was the first to recover. "Why, Kagome, one would think that you didn't like us anymore." He pointedly ignored her glare. "Besides, we just heard what happened and wanted to make sure you were alright."

Yuusuke took a swing at Miroku, which was dodged easily. "Of course she's not alright. How would you feel if someone walked up to you and said that _you _were engaged and there was absolutely nothing you could do about it?" he snapped.

Miroku looked away and coughed nervously. It wasn't a secret that Miroku had his eye on a certain person, no matter what he did publicly. Both Yuusuke and Kagome agreed behind the guy's back that he flirted to cover up his nervousness at being around that special someone.

Yuusuke looked smug. "I thought so." Turning to Kagome, he continued. "Besides, that guy your dad hooked you with is a prat. I heard some of the guards complaining about him, and how he was so snappy and better-than-thou."

Kagome sighed and hung her head. "My dad just doesn't get it. I want to be able to find my own person to live with, regardless of the fact that Atlantis should have more allies. I could care less, especially since both Botan and Kikyo seem happy with their suitors."

Yuusuke swam forward and crossed his arms in front of Kagome. "And you won't tell him...why?"

"Because number one," she held up a finger to emphasize her point, "he won't listen. And two," she held up a second finger, "he won't care."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try!"

"I can't do _anything_ if he won't even listen, Yuusuke! I tried that before and it didn't work. I'm out of options at this point."

"You still shouldn't give up just like that."

"I hate to interrupt," Miroku began, "but what is that?" He pointed over Kagome's shoulder.

Yuusuke looked up and Kagome turned around, both following Miroku's line of sight. The trio watched as a form slowly fell through the water limply. They could barely make out a tail and two arms.

"It's a person!" Kagome cried, beginning to swim towards the figure.

Miroku and Yuusuke hurried to catch up. "What kind of person would be way out here, though?" At both Yuusuke and Kagome's stare, Miroku added, "Besides us, of course. Doesn't it seem a bit...odd?"

Yuusuke shrugged. "A person is a person. Maybe we can interrogate them and find out where they're from, what they want, and how they got here."

Kagome nodded absently. Already it was becoming clear that it was no person they had ever seen. For one thing, the tail had an indistinguishable category. Normally, just by looking at a person, you could tell whether or not they had shark, fish, dolphin or whale blood, or even one of the more rare types of blood in their past. This tail, however, had traits from all different creatures.

It was also an unusual combination of colors. It was a middling shade of green, which was not an uncommon color in the different lands. What _was_ unusual was the scattered bits of silver that could be seen throughout the tail.

As finally made it over, they got a good look at the person. It was definately male; a distinct lack of breasts made it incredibly obvious. Also, the person had a most interesting shade of red hair. It reminded Kagome of a lobster's shell. It was also long, unlike many of the male population in Atlantis chose to wear their hair (Yuusuke was one of a few exceptions).

His features were incredibly delicate. They were almost feminine, which was one thing that had never been seen in any kingdom from Atlantis to the arctic sphere. He was much darker than anyone Kagome had ever seen, his skin almost the color of sand. Kagome wondered if he visited the other ocean often; she had noticed that the more times she went into the light of that giant world, the darker her skin became.

"Who the hell is this?" Yuusuke voiced. It was an obvious question, yet someone had to ask it. The trio had all been wondering the same thing.

Miroku shook his head. "I don't know." He and Yuusuke both reached out to stop the stranger's descent and looked at Kagome.

The young princess brushed a stray hair from the stranger's face. "He's like nothing I've ever seen before."

The two sea folk took her word at face. Kagome had had more influence when it came to what people looked like, since she had gone with her family many times to visit the different kingdoms surrounding Atlantis.

The three all looked at each other and shared a look. The same thing ran through each of their minds- was this finally a person from the ocean above, come to be a sort of ambassador to the people below?

The person stirred before the friend's could say anything else. Miroku and Yuusuke continued to support the strange new someone as he groggily opened his eyes.

Kagome looked on as she watched the figure open his eyes. They were unlike anything Kagome had ever seen- they were green.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Character List: 

Youko- 'The Little Mermaid'  
Kagome- Prince 'Eric'  
Miroku- Flounder  
Yuusuke- Sebastion  
Sesshoumaru- King Triton  
Botan, Kikyo and Keiko- 'Ariel's' sisters  
Rin- Max  
Cloaked Figure- Ursula

* * *

Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review! 


	5. Chapter V

A/N: Hey, I watched The Little Mermaid earlier! It gave me some ideas for this story, and so I can get the boulder rolling again.

The reason it took me so long was because my brother had his birthday soon after the fourth of July and I was busy writing his story. All he asked from me was an origional story, so I was busy working on that for the past week. Outside of the fourth and my brother's birthday, I was getting over the death of my guinea pig. It may not seem like much to some of you, but after five years, you become attatched to something, I should think. I really miss him, but I'm moving on, and that's why I was later than I had planned. I had actually replaced the story chapter before he got sick, then he died a little after, and then it was the fourth. So, that's my explaination. Long and winded, but explained none the less.

This chapter was a lot of fun to write in the beginning. I loved writing Youko's reactions to everything, even if he is a bit out of character. But I think I deserve some slack, since he's gotten one helluva shocker from this. Also, I reserve the right to make Sesshoumaru a bit out of character himself. Why? You'll see. He's not so heartless after all...The second part of this chapter was pretty easy to write, but at the same time, not. That's all I can say on the matter without giving it away.

So, now we've got a plot. What else? We've got characters, lovers, action, adventure, sadness, death, blood, gore, royalty, villains...am I missing anything?

Also, my poll is still going on. As it stands, nobody's participated. Which is making this all the more difficult...I don't know who the evil villain will be yet! The current numbers are: **Karasu: **0;** Naraku: **0;** Rando: **0;** Other (specify): **0.

One more thing. My sister says that I somehow wrote Rin like a cross between Marlene (FFVII : AC) when she's stamping her foot at Cloud over by Vince, and Alicia (Full Metal) when their at the end of the first season...Any agreements?

Anyways, I hope you enjoy my chapter. I enjoyed writing it, and I apologize for the delay. Which isn't as long as it seems, since I actually replaced the last chapter. Have fun reading!**

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The first thing that Youko noticed was that someone was talking above him. A couple someone's, actually, and one had an incredibly beautiful, feminine voice. The other two were too quite for Youko to pick out clearly, but he had some semblance of an idea as to whether or not they were male or female.

The second thing he noticed was that he was being held up by two people. They were holding him by the shoulders, which were incredibly sore for some reason. He didn't know why, but brushed it aside as strain and stress from his father and the notorious king's ideas of marriage.

The third thing, upon opening his eyes, was that there was definately a female around him. In fact, she was hovering over his face. His eyes traced delicate, pale features. He noticed her stubbornly set chin, the definate sharpness of her nose, and met curious brown eyes before he himself had a chance to blink.

To his surprise, the girl looked somewhat shocked. What, did he have something hanging out of his nose, he wondered briefly. But there couldn't be anything seriously wrong with him. He would have known had anything significant happened, other than the fact that he didn't remember what happened to that cloaked figure.

Youko groaned and sat up slowly. He felt the hands leave him to fend for himself as he put one of his own up to his forehead. He had a massive headache aside from being sore all over. He thought he had pulled muscles, somehow, that he hadn't known existed.

The girl was speaking to him. "...just saw you falling, and came to check up on you. Are you alright?" she asked. Her voice was full of concern and the ever present curiousity. He looked at her face, and saw that it was shadowed.

"I'm just a bit sore." Youko stretched, practically hearing his limbs grate against each other. That was a creepy thought, he told himself. "What time is it?"

The girl cocked her head to the side and looked past his shoulders. She was, presumably, sharing some sort of look with the people behind him. He felt their presence disappear from behind him before she turned her attention back to him. "Time?" she retorted. "What is that?"

Youko raised an eyebrow. His entire expression said 'Don't play coy with me, young lady'. "Time. As in, is it night time? Day time? Morning, afternoon, evening, nap time?" he said. To his immense frustration, the girl just seemed to be getting more and more confused the more he said.

"I'm sorry," she began, "but you must not be from around here. We have no such thing as time. At least, I don't think we do." She shrugged. "I know that when we're hungry, we eat, and when we're tired, we sleep. That's about it."

Youko's brow furrowed. "Then how can you see at night?" He saw her blank look and continued. "You know, when it's all dark and the sun isn't out?"

The brown-eyed girl raised an eyebrow, copying Youko's earlier expression. "The sun? We have no such thing. And if night is what you say it is," she paused, and Youko nodded. "Then it's always night time here," she concluded.

Youko laughed. "That's crazy. There's no land in the entire world that has only night. The sun doesn't let that happen, so it's impossible." He stopped laughing when he realised that, no, the girl wasn't making some sort of joke. Or if she was, she wasn't ready to give it up. "I tell you, it's impossible! Even the moon lights up the sky, or the stars do!" He looked up to prove it, and stopped dead.

There was no sky. Even more shocking, there was a rippling effect that made everything above him have a surreal, watery effect. With wide eyes, he turned his head back to the girl in front of him and got a good look at her.

On her neck, there were slits. It actually resembled flaps of skin that moved constantly. Her arms were crossed, holding some of her raven black hair trapped. The rest of her hair floated around her. As his eyes traveled past a bare stomach, he laid shocked eyes on her dark, green tail.

It took a moment to process that information before his jaw dropped. He looked between the girl's human enough face, back to her tail, and back up once again, before squeaking out in a very un-princly manner, "You're a mermaid." The statement held an accusatory tone to it.

The girl's eyes narrowed in anger. "I am a person. And I'd think that you would have known that as well, seeing as you're a person as well."

Youko looked down in surprise and nearly fell over. In fact, he would have fallen over, if he hadn't come to the uncomfortable conclusion that there was no way possible for him to fall onto the ground.

For there was no ground. There was only ocean water, for as far as he could see, in any direction he looked. Above him, below him, and on all sides it covered. It didn't help that he realised he himself had somehow obtained an odd looking tail of his own, a green shade the color of grass with bits of silver glitter scattered throughout.

Youko's arms pinwheeled about as he tried to stay afloat in, what he hoped was, an upright position. He could only guess that somehow his subconcious mind had kept him in a relatively normal position, but now that he realised it wasn't logically possible for him to be in the position he was, his concious mind took over all movement in his body once more.

And, seeing as learning how to swim like a fish wasn't covered in school, he was left flailing like a fish out of water. Or, perhaps the more appropriate term was he was flailing about like a human off of land.

The girl watched for a moment in confused suspicion before her pitious side seemed to kick in. She swam over- Yes, Youko told his brain, _swam_- and helped to set himself to rights again.

"I'm Kagome," she said suddenly. Youko looked over at her, hoping to see a smiling, friendly face, but was instead meant with a stern, soul-peircing stare. "And, if your swimming ability is anything to go by, you aren't from around here." It was a statement, and Youko knew there was little to nothing he could do to convince her that he just wasn't used to swimming. In this ocean. Right.

"No, I'm not," he admitted. "I don't remember exactly how I got here, but I know that I'm not supposed to be living under the water."

Kagome looked taken aback. "What do you mean? All people live under the water, regardless of where we were born. It's always been that way, and there's no proof to the contrary," she said.

Youko looked over to her, ready to spill everything in a place where there seemed to only be one (somwhat) sympathetic ear, when he had another shocking revelation.

Kagome wasn't wearing a shirt, in any way, shape or form. What was more, she had his arm slung across her shoulders and her chest was incredibly close to Youko's own bare torso.

"Sorry!" he said as a lifetime of manners caught up to him. He pulled himself away to give her space, give her a chance to cover herself up decently, and realised his mistake only after he was flailing around again.

Kagome wondered what had gotten into the stranger. He was acting like no person she had ever heard of, even in the stories and legends that spanned across the kingdoms. She moved forward and grabbed Youko's arm, pulling him upright again. "What was that for?" she asked.

For some reason, he would look at her. She tried to swim to meet his eyes, finding it rude that he wouldn't let her see his stunning orbs once again, but he kept turning so that his head was always turned away from her. For some reason, his face was turning red as well. It was enough to confuse and annoy the young princess.

"What is it with you?" she snapped. Her temper paid off in one way, at least; Youko's face snapped around, and he finally met her eyes. She made sure to give him the same stare she often got from her father, the one that wouldn't let her look away. Curiously enough, his face darkened to a deep crimson.

"You're not wearing anything," he muttered, looking off to the side as she broke eye contact with a blink.

_At least he's not trying to pull his arm away_, she thought. _This way, he can't swim away and I can keep questioning him._ Kagome scoffed at his pathetic reason. "Everyone knows that wearing anything will just slow you down. That is one of the most suicidal things that a person can choose to do, wearing things."

"Well, obviously I didn't know that," Youko bit back. He still wasn't meeting her eyes.

Kagome shook her head slowly. "Who are you?" He looked at her through the corner or his eye. "You're obviously not a person," she ignored his venomous glare, "because all people can swim and know that object weigh you down in the water. And no person I've ever seen or heard of has ever had green eyes."

Youko started. "What do you mean, green eyes? I don't have green eyes. It's impossible." Kagome gave him a look that said he was a horrible lier, and he became angry. "I should know. The last time I looked in the mirror, my eyes were golden brown."

"Well maybe you should look into the mirror again," Kagome said. "Since you're obviously suffering memory loss, I'll fill you in. You look like a person, but you can't swim and you think you should be wearing things. You have green eyes and red hair. You have the darkest skin I have ever seen on someone, and all of this leads to the obvious conclusion that something happened to you to turn you into a person without your knowledge." To prove she was telling the truth, she brought a strand of his deep red hair into his face.

Youko picked the strand out of the floating water and stared at it momentarily. Finally, he conceded. "You're right," he told her.

Kagome nearly dropped his arm in surprise. That would have been a bad thing, since Youko would have started to thrash about once more. "I am?"

Youko nodded and decided to give Kagome a heavily edited, somewhat believable version of his life. It took a lot longer than he thought, though, since he kept having to explain everything about humans to her in order for her to believe him.

And when he was done, they both sat there and stared at one another, each with their own thoughts.

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A young man stood before Sesshoumaru and his family. He was shivering and trembling under the king's cold stare, his eyes darting every which way. It wasn't hard for someone to figure that the sailor would have rather been anywhere else than where he was, about to give his saddened report to a man known for his cold calculation and terrifying demeanor. 

Off to one side of Sesshoumaru's chair sat his wife. A young woman who was more often seen trying to calm her husband than showing a nasty temper of her own, Kagura had hair as black as the night. Her eyes were a reddish brown, and at the moment, they were trained on the person in front of her. She wore a simple gown of sapphire silk, fitting her elegantly without seeming to scream power and money.

Rin held her mother's hand, wearing a gown nearly identical to her mother's in green cotton. She was yawning, her young mind wishing she could be with her dear brother out playing in the sand. She hated sitting in audiences, especially when they were the sort that required her entire family to be there. They were generally boring and long, and she never liked them to begin with.

Sesshoumaru signaled for the attendant to begin, and the dry old man announced the sailor's name and rank. He was apparently a young fish trader, who regularily visited the coast to get his produce.

He began to wring his hat in his hands as he addressed his lord and king. "M'lord, ye know there wus a big ol' storm night a'fore last, yes?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru nodded; it was the night when Youko had stormed off after learning that he would be wedded. The young prince hadn't been seen since then, but his family wasn't worried. A couple of sailors had beared witness to him leaving on one of the ships that went out to retrieve messages from neighboring countries. The ship itself wasn't due back for a good five days yet.

"Well, m'lord...th' storm wus a bad 'un, an'..." the sailor trailed off. Sesshoumaru glared until the lad started to stutter out the last of his message out of fear. "T-the ship ca-ca-carryin' his h-h-highness wus s-struck."

The chamber grew quite. Nobody moved as this information was processed, with the sole exception of Rin. The young girl was twirling her skirts, twisting from side to side as she missed what the young man in front of her.

Finally, Sesshoumaru said quietly, "Do you have proof to your claim?" The question hung in the air like a morbid fog, waiting to be lifted to see if the prince was alive, injured, or... The last option didn't bear thinking, for it would have sent the kingdom into near chaos.

"Aye. An' I didn' let a one uther soul see't, m'lord. Came strai't 'ere." The sailor nodded to the attendant, who bang a plain brass staff against the mable floor.

The doors opened quietly, and four guards entered bearing a stretcher. Kagura held her breath. Sesshoumaru glared coldly at the sailor, daring him to say everything was a joke and this was just a paid actor. Rin looked up and smiled.

On the stretcher lay the body of the crown prince. Youko's pale hair lay sprawled about him, bits of wood and sea trash strewn through it. His eyes were closed peacefully, and even though he was pale, he looked to be sleeping. Except for the very prominant fact that the prince was split perfectly at the waist, his two halves placed together to give some semblance of a whole.

The bearers stopped and laid the prince at the base of the dais. Everyone held their breath to see the reaction of the entire family, not wanting to be the one to break the shocked silence that was brought in with the very dead prince.

Rin was the first to break it, tugging at Kagura's hand. "Mommy, brother's back!" she said. An innocent smile was covering her face. "Does that mean he's done with his work? Can we go out and play?"

Sesshoumaru stood slowly as Kagura beant down to hug her daughter, now an only child. "Leave." he said. "All of you. Now."

Nobody hesitated as they exited the room. Even the guards, used to the cold voice and sharp temper of the king, didn't waste time in getting away from the king's daunting presence. It never even crossed any of their minds to gossip about what had been seen- everything would be revealed when the family was ready, so why risk their necks when one slip of the tongue could bring them at the focus of the king's wrath?

Rin blinked with confusion. Everyone was acting so wierd. "Mommy, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked with an innocence that was only brought about by the fact that she had never witnessed death in her entire life.

Kagura pulled back and wiped teary eyes. Now wasn't the time to break down, she figured. She could do that later, after everything had been sorted out and she could afford a moment or two to herself. "Rin, honey, Youko can't play with you anymore."

Rin pouted and crossed her arms, backing up. "Why not? He's right there." She turned to her father, who stood over Youko's body. "Right, daddy? He's right there, so he can play as soon as he wakes up!" Kagura shook her head, kneeling on the ground with her head down.

"He won't wake up, Rin. He's dead." That sole statement, the one that everyone had been avoiding the entire time, made everything come crashing down onto the two parents.

Rin didn't understand. "What do you mean? He's just sleeping, see?" Before her mother could grab her, Rin ran down the steps and approached her brother's prone form. "Time to wake up, brother!" she called to him. She was still smiling.

She was stopped by her father, who stopped her and held her back. "He's gone, Rin. He won't wake up, and there's nothing any of us can do about it."

Rin glared at her father. "What do you mean? I want to go play with brother!" She began to struggle against Sesshoumaru's grip, but her tiny frame wasn't a match for a fully grown adult. "Youko! Wake up and tell daddy that you want to play," she commanded. "Brother, stop playing pretend. I'm not having any fun. I want to play in the sand, not this game. This isn't fun."

"Rin, stop." Rin stopped struggling. "Don't you think he would have answered already if he could?" Tears gathered in Rin's eyes. "Don't you think he would make sure that you were happy if he could, that you weren't sad? I'm sure he would have wanted to play with you right away when he had gotten back. But he isn't, because he's dead. He'll never play with you again."

Rin broke down crying. "Brother, why did you leave?" she accused. "You promised you would play with me!" She turned to her father, who was crouched beside her, and buried herself in her open arms.

That night, the death bells rang as the kingdom entered a state of mourning, remembering the hot-headed young prince whose life was tragically cut short.

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End Chapter

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review. 


	6. Chapter VI

A/N: Hello all. I've updated, finally, and I hope you all like it.

Yes, the last note was a doozy. But I really didn't have any ideas (special thanks to _Runelesca_! If there was a way to send cookies via internet, you would have gotten some by now. Half-baked chocolate chip, to be exact.) and it was right before a nasty spell in my life. Nasty in the form that I couldn't really write.

First off, I went to see Kenny Wayne Shepherd (anyone heard of him or listened to his music? Anyone?) and got his autograph at a meet n' greet, then I went to my cousin's house for a seven-year-in-the-waiting sleepover. My birthday was after that, after a long spell of doctor's office visits, and I got together with friends I hadn't seen since June. Somewhere before that I dyed my hair. Then, after my birthday, I went to get surgery (my first surgical experience, complete with anesthesia) and couldn't sit for a week because it was my infection. Then another sleepover, and that brings me up to now, when I've been purposedly not going on Gaia (I get sucked into it easily) and concentrating on fanfiction, neglecting three (four?) guilds (one is mine, as well) and a high-speed thread. I'm such a bad person...

Anyways, notes on this chapter. The idea for Youko in Atlantis came partly from Rune, partly from my sister (except she suggested Yuusuke...I don't know how that changed) and partly from my own sad humor. I actually had a friend tell me that she loved it when Youko couldn't stay upright, so I just _had_ to add more of that...By the way, need more ideas...again..."

Right, this is getting pretty long. My last thing is the poll for the shadowed figure (which you see more of later) and what the ideas are: **Karasu: **1;** Toguro: **0;** Naraku: **0;** Rando: **0;** Other** (please specify in a review)1 (Urasue)

Okay, I lied, there's two more things...First, there is a themesong for this story. Each of mine have one now, either one that fits (ACE) or one that I listened to to get inspiration (every other story by ACE). This one's theme is _Stupid_ by Sarah McLachlan, and the others are on my profile. Also, People have been asking about Youko dead on land, alive in the sea. My response to all of your confusion is that it will be revealed in due course. Probably closer to the end than anything. Can all of you handle that?

Now, read.

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"Alright, we've gotta do something about you," Kagome said as she turned to Youko. The land-dweller-turned-water-dweller faced her as well, raising an eyebrow. "Well, we can't just prance up to the palace and say 'Hello, he's from the world above and will be living here from now on, play nice'. You'll be skewered and made into shark fodder."

Youko nodded reluctantly. "It doesn't help that I'm completely out of place here, as well. I mean, I can't even swim...I never thought it would be this hard." He flushed in embarrassment, trying not to remember the fact that, had Kagome not been holding him there, he would be flailing about with no way of righting himself.

"Well, you need a name. And to learn how to swim, an excuse for not knowing our customs, a job..." Kagome trailed. "Any ideas?"

They sat there in silence for a moment, each coming up with their own stories. "Well," Youko began, "I could say that I have amnesia. You could just give me a name to go by, and that would give me a plausible reason for mistakes."

Kagome nodded. "I could also teach you a crash course in swimming for now. You could also explain away all the fancy swimming you want if you hit your head. You just can't let someone examine you, since you don't have any evidence of hitting your skull against anything. Also, I think I can wrangle a job, since I know someone who owes me a favor. As long as you don't mind working as a server," she said in a questioning tone.

Youko shook his head. "Not at all. I don't have any status here, so I'm going to have to work sometime. Might as well be sooner rather than later."

Kagome half-smiled. "Right, then all that's left for now is teaching you to swim." As Youko watched, Kagome's eyes gained an evil glimmer in them. All of the sudden, he was incredibly nervous, and extremely concious of the hand holding him in place.

A hand which was rapidly pulling itself away from him.

"Don't squirm, try to flip yourself over," Kagome said with much more amusement than necessary. As she sat there, floating calmly in the water, her face wrought with laughter, Youko was slowly flipping upside down. His arms were doing nothing to stop the motion, and it was funny to watch him attempt to right himself. "Don't use your arms so much, they don't help."

"Easy for you to say," Youko snapped, already upside down for all his efforts to the contrary.

Kagome hid a smile. "I told you, your arms, as a person, are only to help you eat, move things, and _not_ for swimming. Use your tail to balance." She said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which irritated Youko.

Youko had completely flipped upside down. His arms were folded in anger as he regarded the amused mer-maiden. Not that Kagome could help it- to her, he was pouting like a child, his hair floating all over the place and his tail twitching with annoyance. They regarded each other for a few moments, then Kagome shook her head.

"I won't help. There's no way that I can teach you if you don't work by trial and error. It's up to you, right yourself." She tried to smooth her face into a mask of cool indifference, but it didn't work.

Youko pursed his lips, then decided to try out an idea. Gathering himself, he sat up, folding himself over. It worked, for all of two seconds, before his flipped over and was, once again, hanging out upside down.

Kagome laughed openly, which didn't help his mood. "You can start an act like that, and just keep going around and around that way," she commented from the sidelines. "I'm sure people would pay a lot to see it, since you wouldn't necessarily be able to get out of it once you started. Try again."

Youko was getting incredibly annoyed at her, not helping at all, and said as much. She just smiled and sat there, looking smug. He moved his gaze off of her, instead moving to concentrate on getting things right. He thought for a while, going over what he did wrong. The only way he had come up with to flip himself right-side up had, obviously, not worked. However, if he could tweak it a bit...

After a short time, in which Kagome scrutinized him closely and tried to figure out why she felt so comfortable around him, Youko attempted to right himself again. And this time...

"It worked!" He said, hardly able to believe that he wasn't floating around in a circle once more. He had used less force to pull himself this time, and had moved his arms as a tight-rope walker would, in order to keep himself upright. His arms were still moving to keep him floating correctly, and with shocked realization, he saw that Kagome was doing the same thing.

"Nice job," Kagome clapped, swimming over to him. "Now, you get to learn to swim. Ever learned where you came from?"

Youko nodded. "However, when I learned, I was taught to use both feet and both arms. Plus, there was the overwhelming fact that I couldn't breathe underwater," he added with a hint of sarcasm. "So, any advice would be most appreciated."

Kagome nodded. "Have you ever tried swimming as if you had both feet hooked together?" she asked. "I guess it would be a little like that, but if you just swim as if you had only one leg, then that should work."

Youko nodded. "Alright, I'll try. But no laughing if I mess this one up," he warned with a glare. Kagome nodded solemnly, and watched as he attempted (and succeeded) at swimming.

Youko swam around some, making sure he got the basics down. Kagome gave him some pointers in efficiency, and he practiced swimming in all different directions, before the two came to the silent agreement that they should get back to Atlantis.

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Atlantis was a sight to behold. Youko kept looking all around him, trying to take in the sights, the sounds, and the people. He had never imagioned that the people of Atlantis would have such diverse tails- there were anything and everything under the sea. He even caught an odd combination of a crab and a human out of the corner of his eye. His face was a tomatoe, since there were as many women as men, and none of them had a stitch on them, but that didn't stop his enthusiasm.

"You're acting like a guppie," Kagome pointed out casually. She had to keep her pace somewhat slowed, since Youko was nowhere near as good a swimmer as the young princess. She waved to a handful of people she knew on sight, smiling the others as they gawked in response to her companion. After all, it wasn't every day a newcomer came to Atlantis, let alone four so soon. "We're almost to the palace now."

Youko skidded to a halt as he saw his first view of the palace royale of Atlantis. Kagome knew he would stop, but didn't pause in her purpose as she approached the gates. "You're falling behind, you know."

Youko caught up after a momentary struggle. "You live here?" He couldn't help keeping the awe from his voice. He would have given anything to be born and raised in a place like Kagome's home; from Youko's impression, it seemed as if the young woman would have given anything to be born elsewhere.

They passed between a pair of shark-tailed guards, looking identical to Youko's eye, and entered the entrance hall. Youko kept, quite literally, on Kagome's tail as she led him through the palace's twisting pathways.

They came to a pair of grand doors, which Youko still didn't know why they had them (Kagome had just rolled her eyes and hadn't answered), and Kagome went right up to them and knocked grandly. It took a short moment before they opened, a pair of muddy brown eyes peering out.

Kagome smiled. "Hello there, Shippo," she greeted.

The eyes, now earning the name Shippo, squealed and launched themselves at the brunette. "Kagome!" it said, burrowing itself into her torso. Youko blinked, and took a good look at the child.

He had dusty red hair, probably the closest the people had seen before they saw Youko's new color. It was held back in a tail of its own, bobbing cheerfully. He was paler than Kagome was, and harbored the tail of a sea-horse. The tail, as he watched, whipped about in a hyper manner, betraying the ecstatic mood of the boy. He appeared about seven years old or so, and had one of the largest, most innocent smiles Youko had seen outside of Rin's.

"I can't believe you didn't come see me sooner, I've missed you. I wouldn't care even if you came while I was working, I would have made time to see you," Shippo was saying, looking up at Kagome's smirking face.

"But then I wouldn't have found someone," she pointed out, looking over at Youko. "See, this person is...Suuichi, and he's going to be working here with you, for now."

Shippo peered around Kagome's stomach to see Youko. They hadn't agreed on a name beforehand, so Youko had to assume that Suuichi would be his Atlantis name. "Nice to meet you," he said, nodding to the youth. "I'm Suuichi, I guess." He shot Kagome a look, as she shrugged.

"You guess?" Shippo looked back up at Kagome. "What does he mean? It's his name, isn't it?"

Kagome pulled out of the embrace and shrugged again. "He can't remember much, not even his name, so that's why I'm setting him up with a job. There's still an opening, yes?"

Shippo's head nodded emphatically as he backed into the room. "Come on, I'll show him around while _you_ talk to _him_," he said, motioning to Youko. "C'mon, Suuichi, follow me."

Youko smiled, reminded intensly of his sister. He was sure, if they had been able to meet, that they would have been best friends right away. "I'm coming. It's Shippo, right?"

The young Atlantian answered affirmitively and began to take Youko on a tour of what appeared to be the armory. There were various weapons that the prince recognized immediately, including spears and a sort of club, and many others that he didn't have a clue about, his favorite of which was a braided string of sea-weed tied to a broken shell.

As he was educated on the guards, he learned about his tour guide. Apparently Shippo was one of many people the equivalent to the pages on land, and his boss was the same as a knight. Shippo helped to take care of the weapons, learned their use, and learned tactics and strategy along with various other lessons in the life of a person.

He finally concluded the tour and, grabbing Youko's wrist to make sure the prince wouldn't leave, brought him to where a fuming Kagome was waiting with another, smug looking merman.

This time, the term merman was appropriate. He had dark hair, though not as dark as Kagome, and his eyes were the golden-brown color of sand. His tail was a dull brown, he had just enough muscles to look flattering, and he was obviously the boss of Shippo. Shippo, when they got near enough, let go of Youko's hand and made a bee-line toward Kagome.

Youko paused, meeting the stare of the other man squarely. The guy's peircing gaze didn't hold a candle to Youko's father's, and so he was able to keep eye contact without flinching.

The other man was the first to look away. He turned to Kagome and said, "This is the wimp that you want me to hire?"

Kagome glared at him. "Inuyasha, he's not a wimp. He can't help it if he's...got no memory of how he got here. He just needs somewhere to work, and nobody in their right mind would work for you, not with your reputation." The man, Inuyasha, bristled as Kagome smirked at him. "Besides, you need the help."

Inuyasha grimaced, knowing that the princess was right. It didn't make him feel any better, though, especially since he had been trying to get her attention and affection for years, and this new brat just waltzed in unannounced and recieved not only her concern, but her friendship as well, it seemed.

He swam up to the newcomer. "She tells me your name is Suuichi." The adolescent nodded. "Right, I'll tell you everything once, and then you're on your own. I'm not going to babysit you. If you have a problem, take it up with someone who cares." He pushed Suuichi ahead of him, smiling sadistically as the red-head floundered for a moment.

It wasn't that Inuyasha was normally this cruel- it was only towards those who tried to take Kagome from him. After all, he had been there first, didn't that mean he got first claims over her affection?

"Brat," he called to Shippo, "You've work to do." Shippo gave Kagome a farewell hug, getting her promise to visit again soon, and hurried over. Inuyasha pushed him and Suuichi over to the rack of spears, and picked one up. "Alright, Red, here's what you do..."

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The figure peered into the cauldron, calling up an image. It was the royal family, minus one white-headed annoyance, and they were all standing on the beachside. The villagers, and anyone else who could make it, had all turned out for this day- the day of Prince Youko's funeral.

There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd as the priest began the ceremony. Youko had been loved by nearly everyone, a select few with minds along the figure's thought track excluded. He had always been sneaking out, whether into the town or onto a ship, and had always been polite to everyone he met.

As the figure watched, the king stepped foward and laid a sword along the body. The body itself had been draped in a shroud, made by the queen and meant for the king's eventual death, so as to protect the people from the gruesome sight of the slain prince. The sword was an intricate, if deadly, peice of artwork that had been meant for Youko's coronation gift from his sister. She had had it commisioned especially for him, basing it off of one of his many story weapons, using all of her allowance to pay for it. There was no other like it.

Now, as they laid on a beached rowboat, they were all doomed to be claimed by the sea. It was royal tradition that, any family member to die, would be sent by ship to float out to sea. Then, with archers lining the coast, the would send flaming arrows to claim body and boat, slowly sinking them.

Rin was in her mother's arms, her head buried in the crook of Queen Kagura's neck. She had been a wreck ever since she found out her brother wouldn't return from the realm of sleep, and had hardly slept or eaten since then. The people were getting worried about her, having heard tales of the young princess from the mouth of Youko himself.

The priest finished his speech, and the figure smirked. It was the smile of one who knew they had won, and were just biding their time until malicious plans came into fruitation.

Four burly guards, those whom Youko had handpicked and trained alongside, those who had been the closest of all his friends, helped each other shove the boat off the shore. The boat floated docily away, carried by the tide, out to the prince's final resting place. The king walked over to his wife and only surviving child, then gave the signal.

A volley of arrows flew and hit their mark. The setting sun added to the fiery grave of the prince's boat, shifting with the tide as a lone breeze stirred the surface. Not a soul said a word as they watched the heir sink beneath the waves he had loved so much, the one place in his life that he had treasured, and the reason of his demise.

As the last ashes died, the crowd scattered slowly. Even though it felt like the world should have come to a screeching halt, the villagers knew that that wasn't the case. No matter how much they wanted to mourn the loss of a good and kind man, that wouldn't prepare for the wintering months.

The last people from the shore were the family. They slowly retreated to their seaside palace, giving each other comfort where they could. It wouldn't bring back their son and brother, but it would help them get through the night to the next dawn.

That night, only a single soul laughed with twisted joy.

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End Chapter

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Character List:

Shippo is my seahorse, the one that announces everything to King Triton

Inuyasha is a random guard

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review.


	7. Chapter VII

A/N: Heh. I like this chapter. A lot. And I hope that any of my however-many reviewers enjoy it as well.

This is the third chapter I've posted for my stories today, one for nearly each, and I'm off to write yet another. I'm very proud of myself for that fact, since it's the most writing I've done in a long while. However, I digress. Again.

Moving on, I would like all to know that I did research for the second part in the reef. _Research_. Most information is correct, although some I just picked from other sources in a similar category and placed in my story for fun and excitement.

But, comments: Am I moving them too fast? Or does it seem about right? Anyways, for my other IF series readers, I'm pleasently surprised to see that I'm still getting reviews for Truth. Even one of my friend's is reading it (somehow, that sounds like bad grammar) and says that her favorite character thus far is Buka. And it (he? She? Who knows?) was just there because I needed something to write, too...

Right, well, the poll hasn't changed since last time: **Karasu: **1;** Naraku: **0;** Toguro: **0;** Rando: **0;** Other (specify):** 1 (Urasue from Inuyasha).

Anyways, I'm done. Enjoy the chapter. I enjoyed writing it.

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"Suuichi, you need to use more polish."

"That's not enough, I said!"

"Dammit, can't you get simple instructions through your thick skull?"

'Suuichi' sighed, picking up the same spear he had been polishing for the past hour, took it back to his workplace, and began the routine over again. It had been the same routine for the past few days- he would do his best with the vague instructions from Inuyasha, take the spear up for inspection, get yelled at or a small comment of gruff approval, and either be sent back with the same spear or recieve a new one to work on.

Shippo swam up to Inuyasha, twitched a bit before Inuyasha passed the weapon, and got a new one to work on. The bubbly child swam back to Youko, smiling at his frustration. Shippo had already passed the thirty mark for polishing weapons, whereas Youko was on his fifth.

"You get used to his standards," the young boy had said to a growled out insult from the land-prince.

Youko didn't know what Inuyasha saw that he didn't. Youko used all of his hard-earned muscle, scrubbing as hard as he could to get the grime, dirt, and questionables from the tips, but it still wasn't enough. He polished them until they shone like miniature suns in the (somehow) glowing reef, yet it still didn't meet with the brunette's approval.

Youko yawned, setting down his spear as he stretched. It was his fifth day working in Atlantis (or so he figured- it was impossible to tell morning from night there, let alone one day from the next). Kagome had visited him each day, bringing with her the latest gossip and helping him become more profficient in his swimming. He could nearly keep up with her, now.

Nearly was the operative word. She could still swim circles around him if she tried, and that didn't help Youko's self-esteem when it came to fitting in in the city. He was as slow as the children just learning their first strokes, and was often reminded of that fact by Kagome's friends.

She had brought them with her on the second (or was it third?) day. They had immediately began to point out his flaws, telling him what he was doing wrong, but not helping to correct his mistakes. The constantly repeated what Kagome had told him the first day- if he didn't learn by trial and error, how _would_ he learn?

It seemed to be the city motto.

He picked up his rag as he thought about Yuusuke and Miroku. They both seemed pretty alike, in the respect that they both cared immensly for Kagome, and both possessed a blatant disregard for rules. From their tales, they were often a factor in Kagome's excursions.

Still, Youko was beginning to like them. They had a decent (if, in Miroku's case, twisted) sense of humor that Youko could relate to. He had more in common with them than at first glance, and they were very good at holding an intelligable arguement. But none of them could hold a candle to Kagome.

She had often backed Youko into a corner with her arguements. She was in the perfect position for gathering information, being welcome in both the palace and the city, and being neither noticed nor ignored. It helped her collect vast amounts of intelligence, with which she used against the shocked merman whenever possible, and with much more relish than should be legal.

As if his thoughts summoned her, Kagome opened the door and swam into the workroom without any regard to the fact that Inuyasha was standing just inside. She ignored him and made her way to Shippo and, in retrospect, 'Suuichi'.

"Shippo, Yo-Suuichi," she greeted. It was a good thing she had caught herself. Youko had expressed his wishes for her to calm him by his birthname the first time she had kidnapped him (that was the only term that could be used when she literally dragged him from his station) and took him for a stretch. Her friends had the same permission, knowing that he possessed all of his memories but respecting his refusal to talk about it.

"Kagome! If you're taking Suuichi, can I come, too?" the boy asked, turning puppy eyes onto the young princess. "Oh, please?"

Kagome laughed and returned his warm embrace. "Sorry, but you already have my sisters wrapped around your finger. I know for a fact that you get them to take you out, so don't think that I'll follow in their footsteps," she scolded mildly.

Shippo grinned impishly. "You're right," he agreed. It had been with a nasty shock that Youko had found out Shippo had a nasty, prankster persona about himself. In fact, the boy had pulled a prank on the prince himself, one that made the red-head shudder from embarrassment at the memory of.

Kagome turned to Youko and motioned to him. "I don't have all day, you know, and by now you deserve a break. Come on." Youko gladly dropped his work as he followed her out, ignoring the murderous look that Inuyasha gave them. The weaponsmaster had tried to talk the princess out of kidnapping his newest victim, but she had nearly pulled rank on him to plow over all of his excuses. Now, all he could do was stare with blatant disapproval.

When they were away from the palace and well on their way to the outer city limits, Youko spoke up. "So, where are we headed to today?" So far, Kagome had brought him to an enclosed grotto, a deep canyon (in which Youko had been surprised to discover he could see perfectly fine) and swimming with a few dolphins.

Kagome smiled grimly. "I want to get as far from the palace as I can. Suzaku has been taking to following me wherever I go, adament that he's only conserned for my safety. I had to pull some fancy swimming in order to get away from him, and then I had to sneak out right away after."

Youko smiled. "Well, it's not like it's your fault, right?" Youko had filled her in, with more detail, about Youko's own bethrothment and his view on his bride-to-be. It had been a real eye-opener to find that Kagome was one of four princesses, and Kagome had had to nearly bite off his head in order to get him to settle his nerves and stop treating her like a porcelain figure.

Kagome sighed heavily, bubbles floating from her mouth. "I know it isn't, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, right?" She glanced over at him, glad that he wasn't trying to say what good it would do for the kingdom. She got enough of that from her family and friends. "Besides, nobody listens to me when I say he isn't..._right_." She couldn't elaborate more than that, but Youko felt he understood.

Instead of saying anything, he nodded. Then he turned his attention to the scenery, as it was a place he had yet to go to. The seaweed thickened slightly, waving fanfares to the sparkeling water. The ocean floor had risen without him knowing, taking him closer to the surface than he had been since he first got to Atlantis.

Coral began to spread out in the distance, brilliant colors creating an underwater painting. Youko could see fish swimming about lazily, without a care in the world, their scales glittering in the sun's light.

"Just ahead, that's the origional location for Atlantis." Youko raised an eyebrow at Kagome. "Origionally it was meant to be a bright city, but then the gliding creatures came, the ones that skim the barrier," she clarifyed. Youko nodded, knowing that she meant the fishing vessels. "That scared the people to the darkness, and that's where the palace was raised."

The red-head knew that she meant it literally, when she said raised. He knew the palace was made of coral, and there was only one way that you gained the substance. "What is it used for now? Anything?" He was always curious about Atlantis' history, and Kagome was only too happy to tell him about it.

"It's just there. Just another peice of reef, there for anyone's enjoyment. The only thing that makes it special is the fact that Atlantis would have been there, instead of where it is, had we not been too afraid to discover the creatures' purposes and braved the light." Her tone was sad, revealing her love of the sun.

Youko's face fell. He had hoped that she would be telling him another peice of legend, another new piece to the puzzle that made up this underwater paradise. Even now, days later, it seemed like a waking dream. Youko thought that any moment, he would wake up and realise it was only weeks until the wedding, days, hours, mere moments before his freedom was ripped away from him forever...

"Stop!" Kagome said harshly, softly, throwing her arms out as an automatic action. Her eyes were cautious, her body tense, and Youko knew better than to go against her when she had been born and raised in the water. "Something's not right." She narrowed her eyes, squinting, searching for the slightest sign that would tell her what had caused her to stop.

Then she saw it. "The seaweed is moving against the current," she said quietly. And indeed, it was- the current was moving Kagome's hair from left to right, yet the weeds were moving the opposite, right to left. "Why would it do that? Unless..."

That was all the warning that was given. A scream from Kagome to swim for the reef, to find a place to hide, right before the biggest monstrocity ever seen in Youko's short and eventful life attaced.

Actually, it was many somethings. Each one was blue in color, with a white underbelly. There were at least five, but no more than ten. That was all Youko could gather before they attacked, each shark possessing a set of deadly teeth, and each one deciding that Youko was the better bit of food.

He had to move fast, and there was no time for thought. He swam for all he was worth, swimming towards the reef. He could no longer see the glitter of scaled fish. They had seen the danger long before the two people had, and had fled in terror. And now, with a pack of vicious, hungry sharks quite literally on his tail, Youko knew the blind terror that took over their small bodies just before death's icy grip took them into his grasp, snuffing out their short lives without mercy.

He couldn't see Kagome. Not that he had much of a chance- one eye was watching for sharks to his left, another for them to his right, and a third he didn't possess was searching for a place of safety. He listened in for them, trying to pick out their gnashing jaws from the rest of the noise they were making.

He caught a glimpse of blue from the corner of his eye, and dodged just in time. Still, he thought that he had lost a few scales back there. He turned and began to swim. It was only moments later that he realised he was no longer swimming to the reef.

The sharks attacked again when he tried to swim back to safety. He realised, some twisted part of his mind laughing ironically, that he was being herded somewhere. And that somewhere could only be towards more of their brethren. He was done for, and he was going to die underwater, with nobody realising what had happened to him, never being able to say goodbye to his mother, his father, Rin...

A flash of blue ahead. The rest of the pack, a further seven of them, none less than eight feet in length. They swam to meet him, and he could see the raw hunger in their eyes, the need for food, the savage instinct that gave them the means to their survival. It terrified him, nearly so much that he didn't make his next move.

He realised that they were just surrounding him on his sides. They were doing nothing about his escape routes above or below him, and he knew he could take that to his advantage, however small and miniscule it would be.

Swimming down was out. The ocean bottom was too close to where he swam, and he would run into it and beach himself like a ship running into the shoals. The only way he could move was up, and so he uttered a mindless prayer, conveying his desperation, his need, just before he acted.

He had to angle himself, and he nearly didn't make it. He wasn't used to swimming, as the sharks obviously were, and he was growing tired. But with one great pump of his tail, his arms flat against his sides so they didn't slow him down, he shot out of the water.

It felt like he was suspended in the air. The sun beat down on his shining skin, it's heat kissing him as he arced through the air. He caught sight of a ship in the distance, seeing ant-size people scutter and shout on deck. He heard and glimped a handful of sharks break the surface themselves, before he was falling into the fray once more.

Time sped up. The water was cool, shocking him from his dream-like state. He swam down and around, hoping the sharks would follow his path blindly and not be as intelligent as he thought they were. He nearly lost it when he swam under a horde of them, each fighting the other, not paying attention to him until he had already passed them by. They sorted themselves out, then, and began the chase once more.

He saw Kagome in the near distance, her face pale, her eyes wide with fright. She was waving him over, motioning for him to follow her to wherever she had gone, and then she, too, was swimming for her life.

She kept ahead of him, swimming around the seaweed with the ease and grace of practice. She swam, always keeping just in his sight, until she came to a cave of sorts. She swam into it, not looking back, and he spurred his already screaming muscles into new vigor.

He had barely cleared the entrance of the cave, it's inside pitch black, unable to see even with his improved eyesight, before a stone was falling into the place of the only light source. Youko caught on quickly, throwing his weary body in to help her, placing the stone over the entrance just in time.

The thudding of over twenty bodies hitting the entrance echoed off the walls. They almost lost the battle when the stone groaned in protest, sliding across the sand ever so slightly. But then there was silence, except for the heavy breathing of the two people, the adrenaline still running, the instinct of fight or flight still foremost on their minds.

"Well," Kagome said with false cheer, starteling Youko nearly from his mind, "that wasn't what I had planned. Sorry," she apologized. Youko could sense her weariness, sense her being unused to using up so much energy at once.

"What," Youko paused to take control of his shaking voice, and to gather his wits, "what were they? And how can sharks travel in packs?"

"Those were blue sharks," Kagome said. "And they travel in packs according to size and gender. We're just lucky that none of them were female, otherwise we would have been toast." She sagged against the rock and heard Youko do the same on her other side. "If they had been female, they would have had mating scars covering their skin."

Youko laughed without humor. "I was too busy swimming for my life to notice, but I'll try to keep that in mind next time I decide to have a morning jaunt through the waters pursued by a group of hunger-crazed fish," he commented, voice laced heavily with sarcasm.

Kagome smiled. "Still, now that you can look back on it, it seems a bit surreal." Her heart was still pounding, and though it usually stopped by now, even after such a strenuous swim, she attributed the fact to having survived her first encounter with a pack of sharks out to do her in.

"It does." Youko closed his eyes. Not that it would matter much; neither of them could see in the darkness anyway. "But I won't be laughing any time soon, so don't ask me to." He tried to slow his breathing, tried to calm down. He started to take systematic, deep breaths, and that seemed to help a bit.

"Neither will I," she said with a yawn. "But now that we're relatively safe, a nap sounds nice." She pulled her tail to her chest as she heard, rather than saw, Youko nod beside her. "Pleasent dreams, I hope," she said with a small smile.

Youko nodded again, yawning himself. Whoever said yawns were contagious had the right idea, he thought. Slowly he drifted off to sleep, dropping into the land of dreams just after Kagome herself. The young princess's head fell sideways as her neck stopped supporting it, and it fell onto Youko's chest. And there they slept, until the search party was sent out to find them sometime later.

There was nothing like a near-death experience to bring two people together.

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End Chapter

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Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review.


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